Thank you for your request which has been logged under reference 150609022409.

For full details of the Freedom of Information Act, how a request is dealt with and related information please visit http://www.ico.org.uk .

Yours sincerely

Mike Fawcett
Information and Project Officer
Colchester Borough Council
Telephone: 01206 508793
Textphone users dial 18001 followed by the full number that you wish to call.
[email address]
www.colchester.gov.uk/contact

If so, I would like to know how many downloads it has received so far, both for iOS and Android.

I would also like to know which company or organisation managed the project.

Please can you also tell me the total cost in producing the app. Please provide a breakdown of where the funding came from for the project.

Finally I would like to know how CBC has marketed the app.'

Our understanding is that the news article cited was produced in relation to an award made in 2014 by the Technology Strategy Board (now Innovate UK https://www.gov.uk/government/organisati... ) to Smart Networked Environments Ltd (SmartNE http://www.smartne.com/SNE ) a software company based in Colchester. The award funded a feasibility study (not an app) directed at creating a geospatial system capable of integrating data from many sources including local authorities, transport operators, utilities and other organisations to produce a wide range of software tools and applications with potential uses in many fields such as long and short term infrastructure and economic planning, traffic management, retailing and other commercial sectors, including tourism.

During the feasibility study SmartNE worked with the University of Essex, Colchester Borough Council and with businesses with access to national data. The Council made town centre information available for the study but made no financial contribution to the project.

The study proved the concept to be technically robust and has informed the current development by SmartNE of commercial applications based on their ‘WAI2Go’ advanced mapping platform.

[Request 150609022410]

‘Please can you confirm if the app below was ever made available for iOS?

I would like to know how many downloads it has received so far, both for Android and iOS, if applicable.

Finally I would like to know how CBC has marketed the app.’

The link is to one of the Apps developed on the WAI2Go Platform. The Colchester App was funded from the Creative Urban Renewal in Europe Programme (CURE; www.cure-web.eu ) which in 2013 awarded SmartNE £15,000 to produce an app-guide to events and venues in Colchester. The App aims to encourage tourism and to showcase the Borough's creative and cultural activities.

The WAI2Go platform, which allows the locations to be displayed on an interactive map together with step-by-step instructions to reach the locations, has been provided at no charge for the 3-year contract. One of the objectives was to make the app ‘sustainable’ and so since its initial design the app has been substantially reconfigured by SmartNE to make full use of the platform.

Following soft-launch, The Colchester App has undergone a recent upgrade to improve functionality and is now awaiting Apple approval before an official launch. The soft launch Android version is available on Play Store; records indicate over 100 pre-launch downloads to date. An updated Android version will be released at the same time as the iOS version. Once the release is complete the App will be pro-actively marketed.

I trust that this information will meet your needs. If however you have any further questions or concerns regarding this request please contact me again quoting the references given above.

If so, I would like to know how many downloads it has received so far, both for iOS and Android.

I would also like to know which company or organisation managed the project.

Please can you also tell me the total cost in producing the app. Please provide a breakdown of where the funding came from for the project.

Finally I would like to know how CBC has marketed the app.'

Our understanding is that the news article cited was produced in relation to an award made in 2014 by the Technology Strategy Board (now Innovate UK https://www.gov.uk/government/organisati... ) to Smart Networked Environments Ltd (SmartNE http://www.smartne.com/SNE ) a software company based in Colchester. The award funded a feasibility study (not an app) directed at creating a geospatial system capable of integrating data from many sources including local authorities, transport operators, utilities and other organisations to produce a wide range of software tools and applications with potential uses in many fields such as long and short term infrastructure and economic planning, traffic management, retailing and other commercial sectors, including tourism.

During the feasibility study SmartNE worked with the University of Essex, Colchester Borough Council and with businesses with access to national data. The Council made town centre information available for the study but made no financial contribution to the project.

The study proved the concept to be technically robust and has informed the current development by SmartNE of commercial applications based on their ‘WAI2Go’ advanced mapping platform.

[Request 150609022410]

‘Please can you confirm if the app below was ever made available for iOS?

I would like to know how many downloads it has received so far, both for Android and iOS, if applicable.

Finally I would like to know how CBC has marketed the app.’

The link is to one of the Apps developed on the WAI2Go Platform. The Colchester App was funded from the Creative Urban Renewal in Europe Programme (CURE; www.cure-web.eu ) which in 2013 awarded SmartNE £15,000 to produce an app-guide to events and venues in Colchester. The App aims to encourage tourism and to showcase the Borough's creative and cultural activities.

The WAI2Go platform, which allows the locations to be displayed on an interactive map together with step-by-step instructions to reach the locations, has been provided at no charge for the 3-year contract. One of the objectives was to make the app ‘sustainable’ and so since its initial design the app has been substantially reconfigured by SmartNE to make full use of the platform.

Following soft-launch, The Colchester App has undergone a recent upgrade to improve functionality and is now awaiting Apple approval before an official launch. The soft launch Android version is available on Play Store; records indicate over 100 pre-launch downloads to date. An updated Android version will be released at the same time as the iOS version. Once the release is complete the App will be pro-actively marketed.

I trust that this information will meet your needs. If however you have any further questions or concerns regarding this request please contact me again quoting the references given above.